Paramount hit with 'Top Gun' copyright claim as 'Maverick' flies high

New Tom Cruise film is a blockbuster success

Tom Cruise attends the premiere of 'Top Gun: Maverick' in Yokohama, Japan. Getty

Cruise during the UK premiere of 'Top Gun: Maverick' at Leicester Square in London. Getty

He is one of the few actors to command a share of gross box office revenue, rather than a percentage of final — or back-end — profits. Getty

Cruise walks to the red carpet after riding a helicopter to the world premiere of 'Top Gun: Maverick' in San Diego. AP

In addition to a base salary of between $12m to $14m, Cruise will receive 20 per cent of first-dollar gross for 'Top Gun: Maverick', in addition to potential revenue from streaming sales. AFP

Often described as the last great film star, Cruise’s net worth is estimated at about $600 million. Photo: Paramount Pictures

Cruise portrays Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in a scene from 'Top Gun: Maverick', which was made on a production budget of $170 million. Photo: Paramount Pictures

Cruise has produced 12 films, which have taken $4.8 billion globally. Photo: Paramount Pictures

He will appear in 'Luna Park', which seeks to be the first action motion picture to be filmed in outer space, in partnership with billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Photo: Paramount Pictures

The heirs of an author whose article inspired the 1986 film Top Gun have sued Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement, court documents show.

Three decades after the blockbuster original, which was based on Ehud Yonay's 1983 magazine article, titled "Top Guns", Paramount released a sequel last month that has soared to the top of North America's box office.

In their complaint filed on Monday to a California court, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, the writer's widow and son, who live in Israel, allege that the story's copyright was returned to them in 2020, "but Paramount deliberately ignored this, thumbing its nose at the statute".

"The Yonays contend and Paramount denies that the 2022 sequel, like the 1986 film, is derived from the author's story," the complaint reads.

The Yonays are seeking to prevent Paramount from distributing its sequel, as well as unspecified damages.

A representative of Paramount told multiple news outlets on Monday that the claims were "without merit."

"We will defend ourselves vigorously," the representative said.

Top Gun: Maverick picks up the story of the now-greying US Navy pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise, as he trains young aviators for a mission to attack a nuclear plant in a rogue state.

The 2022 action drama had a second huge showing in North American theatres at the weekend, taking in an estimated $86 million.

That number placed it among the top 10 highest-grossing second weekends in domestic box office history. It took in $151 million last weekend.

Tom Cruise's career is marked by intense performances, on and off the screen it seems. IMDb

Tom Cruise in 'Taps' (1981) IMDb

US actor Tom Cruise stands on a boat during the shooting of the movie 'Mission Impossible: Lybra' in Venice on October 20, 2020. AFP

Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Jason Robards in 'Magnolia' (1999) IMDb

Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in 'Rain Man' (1988) IMDb

Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, and Samantha Morton in 'Minority Report' (2002) IMDb

Tom Cruise and Demi Moore in 'A Few Good Men' (1992) IMDb

Tom Cruise in 'Jack Reacher' (2012) IMDb

The film — whose release had been delayed two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic — notched $124 million for the first three days of the Memorial Day weekend in May, despite not playing in China or Russia.

It was Cruise's first opening to top $100 million.

The Paramount/Skydance film has earned $257 million abroad, the latest sign of Hollywood's recovery from a bleak pandemic period.